CARIBBEAN TODAY


-wwecaribbeantoday.com


 ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature


MoBay airport expands for CWC 2007,


anticipates heavy traffic into Jamaica


 GORDON WILLIAMS

It won't be complete in
 time for Cricket World
 Cup (CWC) 2007 begin-
ning in March, but operators
of Sangster International
Airport in Montego Bay have
issued assurances that the
entry to Jamaica, through its
second city on the western
side of the Caribbean island,
will be prepped enough to
comfortably handle the
expected large influx of visi-
tors and cargo for the massive
international event.
 The airport's new arrival
hall, part of the overall expan-
sion of the airport, the hub of
the country's national airline
Air Jamaica, is scheduled for


completion by Jan. 2007,
according to MBJ Airports
Ltd., the four-company con-
sortium that runs the facility.
That means that the 12,000
visitors "anticipated specifical-
ly for cricket" (but which does
not include teams and their
entourages), according to
Althea Tharkur, marketing
analyst for commercial devel-
opment at MBJ Airports Ltd.,
should have few hitches relat-
ing to overcrowding when
they arrive.
 The tournament will be
played in several Caribbean
islands. However, Jamaica will
host the opening ceremony at
the Trelawny Multi-Purpose
Stadium, located not far from
Sangster International, in


addition to several warm-up
games beginning Mar. 5.
 Yet with all the adjust-
ments necessary to accommo-
date the influx of visitors and
cargo, for example equipment
for media crews and general
luggage, around the time of
CWC 2007, the consortium
insists that the major concern
- security will not be short-
changed.
 "It (security) is our main
focus," MBJ Airports Ltd.'s
Security Coordinator Cecil
Weekes, told a group of jour-
nalists who toured Sangster
International recently. "...It's
zero tolerance for that."

PASSENGER
SEPARATION


Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay is undergoing major expansion.


 For CWC 2007 the east
concourse of the airport will
have separation of passengers,
although most passengers will
be channeled in that direction
as construction at the west
concourse picks up intensity
around that time. Gates 8-19
on the east concourse will be
open by CWC.
 By the time the expansion
of the airport is completed in
2008, the immigration and cus-
toms area will be shifted from


its present spot to the area
where the ground transporta-
tion section is currently locat-
ed and the separation of
incoming and outgoing pas-
sengers will become perma-
nent. By that time, all luggage
will be checked by the airport
before being sorted by the air-
lines and everyone will be
required to go through the
same security checkpoints.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 27)


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October 2006


CnRGO & TRnnSPORT